Consultancy Matters

A recent survey indicates that while 94 percent of managers schedule one-on-one meetings with direct reports, fewer than half of employees say they have monthly one-on-ones, and only about 20 percent of those meetings are deemed effective. The take away here is that no more than 10 percent of employees are happy with their one-on-one meetings.

Becoming a manager for the first time is an exciting yet nerve-wracking career milestone. First, a celebration is in order. Next, the work begins. Managing a team requires trial and error, and there is nothing quite like learning through practice. You’re going to need to embrace a whole new set of habits to go with your new role.

One of the most compelling ways for anyone to engage with your business is through storytelling. If you think you need a rags-to-riches or wild once-in-a-lifetime story to do that, you don’t. You just need a story that your customers can relate to, says content creator Catherine Nikkel, founder of Mindful Media. 

Good negotiators are more likely to secure a pay rise, get the house or job they want, and keep the peace at home. No end of psychological studies have explored which attitudes, behaviours, and settings will help a negotiation go your way. Here, we take a look at some of the key findings

By allowing all stakeholders a view into the decision-making process, leaders can offer a stronger sense of purpose and belonging to their workforce. The key ingredient? Communication.

The command and control style of leadership that was prevalent in the past is no longer relevant. Today, relationships are the currency of business and leaders need to focus on building and nurturing authentic relationships with their people. The human element of leadership is even more essential during today’s unprecedented times. These 15 traits define the most potent leadership traits for today’s workforce.

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The phenomenally successful are fond of telling us about their passion for their professions.

Consider Steve Jobs: “The only way to do great work is to love what you do. If you haven't found it yet, keep looking. Don't settle.” Or Oprah Winfrey: “If you really want to fly, harness your power to your passion. Honour your calling. Everybody has one.” Or Donald Trump: “Without passion, you don’t have energy. Without energy, you have nothing.”

If they are to be believed, passion isn’t only essential for success. It’s essential for happiness.

#innovation  #humanresources  #management #productivity #technology #markets #future #economy #motivation  #sustainability #education #bestadvice #personaldevelopment #careers #professionalwomen #entrepreneurship #networking #leadership

If ever there was a time for companies to truly commit to digital transformation, this is it. Surviving the most challenging economic conditions since the Great Depression, and thriving once the pandemic eases, requires flexible and imaginative thinking and the ability to manage the innovation process.

Many entrepreneurs are suddenly worried about the future of their businesses. They feel pressure from the invoices piling up or don’t know what steps to take next. Actually, you can take action within the hour to save your business and come out on top by employing an emergency principle we learned as combat veterans in the military, and we use every single day to save businesses.

Hiring? Here are a few tips for hiring in 2020

If you want your career to improve, your business to stand out from the rest, and your art to take on new heights, begin to broaden your creativity. Here are three of the actions I regularly take to build creativity in my work and life.

The past two years have forced companies that previously preferred to watch and wait to companies that are now focused on accelerating their digital transformation efforts. But if there’s one thing we’ve learned from this stepped-up pace, it’s that getting good results is not a plug-and-play proposition.

International evidence is clear that having women at the decision-making table improves environmental outcomes. A study of the European Parliament showed that women elected to Parliaments around the world are more likely to support environmental legislation than men. But women make up only 31% of the House of Representatives and 33% of our federal Cabinet. The upcoming federal election is a chance to reflect on who should be representing and leading our nation at this crucial time. 

Being a modern entrepreneur means ditching the desk, and building an online community. These are 10 women to follow on social media for inspiration

This is a very effective, highly sought after customer service training programme about turning customer complaints into business opportunities; regaining the trust of unhappy customers and keeping them as customers.

Do you know how many customers you lost last quarter? Do you know why? Do you know if complaints were handled satisfactorily? Do you know what you’ll need to do to retain your existing customers and to attract more customers?

A Complaint Is a Gift is not only a practical “how-to” customer service programme that takes participants into the world of customer relationships, but also provokes and inspires changes in related thinking, attitudes and habits.

According to Mario Livio, an astrophysicist, and author of the book Why? there are two types of curiosity. During a 2017 podcast appearance for Knowledge@Wharton, Livio stated,  “There is perceptual curiosity. That’s the curiosity we feel when something surprises us or when something doesn’t agree with what we know or think we know.

#innovation  #humanresources  #management #productivity #technology #markets #future #economy #motivation  #sustainability #education #bestadvice #personaldevelopment #careers #professionalwomen #entrepreneurship #networking #leadership

As a business leader, is your management style dependent on the situation? Or do you instinctively adapt your style to suit specific conditions?

#innovation  #humanresources  #management #productivity #technology #markets #future #economy #motivation  #sustainability #education #bestadvice #personaldevelopment #careers #professionalwomen #entrepreneurship #networking #leadership

Despite the current unpredictable circumstances, we knew the power of not only boosting morale, but helping employees feel valued and fostering a sense of belonging. Here’s what our company learned from the experience.

Innovation theater happens in organizations that have teams engaged in various disconnected innovation activities, none of which are creating value for the organization. Some of these activities have really cool names like idea jams, hackathons, sprints, accelerators and incubators. However, what they are lacking is a consistent process of taking innovation projects from idea to profitable business model. This is why they create no added value to the company (i.e. innovation theater).  

Part of fostering company culture is providing time to connect outside of the office. From happy hours to paint nights or succulent making classes, these allow employees the opportunity to disengage with work and relax. But how can you keep up the momentum and provide a healthy outlet for your team, when, well, everyone is remote for the foreseeable future? It’s a tricky situation that frankly no human resources department has had to navigate in the past.

It used to be every decade or so a new technology appeared on the horizon. You could see its faint outlines, but it had to go through years of research, testing, and patent protections.

Good negotiators understand position. Intimately knowing the landscape – the market and all parties’ needs – can dramatically shift the approach and terms of a negotiation.

But what happens when the landscape crumbles?